Karina Milei adds more power as Foreign Minister Diana Mondino loses agency

She’s known as “The Boss” for a reason and Karina Milei is, without a doubt, the most powerful woman in her brother’s government. This week, the presidential chief-of-staff added more resources to her office, taking over an agency previously overseen by the Foreign Ministry.

Via two decrees, President Javier Milei’s government has restructured the organisation chart of the government, transferring control of the Fundación Argentina para la Promoción de Inversiones y Comercio Internacional (Argentine Foundation for the Promotion of Investment and International Trade) to the chief-of-staff’s office.

Decrees 511/2024 and 512/2024, published on Monday (June 10) in the Official Gazette, confirmed the news that the agency will no longer fall under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Ministry, headed by Mondino.

Justifying the move, the government wrote in the decrees that the transfer is “necessary” for “administration and operational reasons.”

Though there has been little public comment on Mondino’s future, the move comes as a time of tension within La Libertad Avanza. The foreign minister has been questioned for recent comments on China and has made little progress in negotiations over a renewal of Argentina’s multi-billion-dollar currency swap with Beijing.

On Tuesday, it emerged that Mondino, despite her position as Argentina’s top diplomat, would not travel with President Milei to the upcoming G7 leaders summit in Italy, to which he has been invited by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. Karina Milei, however, will travel with her brother to southern Italy. 

The President’s sister normally makes few public statements and has not commented on the decision to put the international trade foundation under her remit. The agency works to promote Argentina’s exports and investment into the country.

The foundation’s objectives, according to its website, include “opining on actions to promote the trade of Argentine goods and services abroad, as well as the promotion of investment in Argentina, by preparing the instructions and guidelines for Argentina’s Diplomatic and Consular Sees and official delegations as to their jurisdiction, in accordance with the Secretariat’s guidelines.”

It also intends to accompany the nation’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) as they “go out into the world and facilitate production investment projects throughout the country.” For that purpose, it intends to accompany them “all along the exporting path to expand their business in the international market.”

The Foundation has a Council presided over by the UIA Argentine Industrial Union and representatives from different sectors, including the CAME Argentine Confederation of Medium-Sized Enterprises; the AIERA Argentine Association of Importers and Exporters, and the International Economic Relations Secretariat of the Foreign Ministry.

– TIMES/PERFIL